North metro police chase ends with driver holding gun to his head

A man led police on a high-speed 12-mile chase across the north metro in his pickup truck, ramming a squad car and evading tire spikes before being forced into a Lino Lakes school parking lot and holding a gun to his head.

After a long, tense phone conversation with his wife, the man got out of the truck with his hands up and surrendered. He was not immediately identified and was not injured.

The man was initially wanted in Coon Rapids, after his wife -- who lives there with his children -- called police and warned them that her husband was suicidal and armed with a gun. The man had been living in North Dakota with his parents, and it was unclear whether he had moved back to Coon Rapids, where he originally resided, police said.

At about 8 p.m., police caught up to him on northbound Hanson Boulevard near 108th Avenue. The man reached Main Street, turned east and sped through Blaine at speeds of up to 80 mph, before being forced by his pursuers into the parking lot of Lino Lakes Elementary School.

In the parking lot, the man held a gun to his head while negotiators urged him to surrender, giving him a cellphone to call his wife. He gave up after a 45-minute conversation and was taken into custody.

He was taken to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, where he was being evaluated late Tuesday evening.